The present invention relates to steering wheel covers and, more particularly, to an improved steering wheel cover comprising a semi-rigid resilient continuous tube adapted to be tightly self-maintained upon a steering wheel without the need of auxiliary fasteners such as thread stitching and/or wrapping cords.
A variety of steering wheels and steering wheel covers have been in the past and are currently being manufactured and marketed to the public to improve the comfort, aesthetics and grip of motor vehicle drivers. Basically, such prior art steering wheels and steering wheel covers may be classified into two general categories, the first being the prefabricated padded leather or vinyl steering wheels typically installed at the factory or obtainable through an after market vehicle supply outlet, and the second being the vinyl steering wheel covers or wraps which may be installed around the circumference of a steering wheel and be maintained thereon by stitching and/or wrapping cords. Although both of these prior art categories have proven generally suitable in the past, they both possess inherent deficiencies which detract from their overall effectiveness and consumer acceptance.
With respect to the prior art prefabricated steering wheels, the foremost deficiency has been their relatively high cost which has rendered the use of the same economically infeasible for the majority of the purchasing public. Further, due to their failure to include any provision in their design to accommodate replacement covers, upon deterioration caused by prolonged use, the entire steering wheel required replacement. The prior art vinyl steering wheel covers or wraps, although being substantially less expensive than the prefabricated padded steering wheels, have typically failed to possess pleasing aesthetics due to their requirement of utilizing a wrapping cord to maintain the same in position upon the steering wheel. Further, after prolonged use, the wrapping cords of such devices typically became loose thereby posing a substantial safety hazard to the driver. In addition, both of the prior art categories of steering wheel and steering wheel covers have been susceptible to becoming hot upon exposure to direct sunlight and have possessed a tendency to promote hand perspiration due to being formed from nonbreathing materials such as leather or vinyl.
Hence, there exists a substantial need in the art for a relatively low cost, aesthetically pleasing steering wheel cover which does not possess the inherent safety deficiencies associated in the prior art.